Free Letters of Love (Green Division Series Book #3) by Ashley Monahan Page A

“Yeah, it’s pretty scary.”

“Scary?  It should be exciting.”  Ben rested his foot on the fence.

“It’s so much work.  So much more than last time and I have just as much on my plate.   I get stressed thinking about it.”

“When do you have free time between lessons, work, and the bakery?”

“Free time?  What’s free time?”  Aubrey looked at him as though the thought was foreign.  “I don’t know what this free time is.”

“I bet you don’t.  We appreciate you spending your free time with us....with Tiffy,” he corrected.  “She talks about you all the time.  You, Gunny, and Trixie.  In that order.”

“She’s a hard girl not to love.”

“I agree, but I’m biased.”  Ben smiled, then the smile faded.  Aubrey could tell where his train of thought had gone.  

Thud.

Aubrey turned around and was horrified.

“Tiffy!”  She closed the distance between them in an instance, Ben hopped the fence behind her.  

“Tiffy, come on, wake up.”  Ben tried for a calm voice.  Tiffy was on her back on the grass, eyes closed and not moving.  

“Call 911,” Aubrey instructed Ben and passed him her phone.   Aubrey checked her breathing and her pulse.

“Is she breathing?”  Ben’s voice was panicked.

“She’s breathing.”

“Tiffy, sweetie, wake up,” Aubrey said.  Ben talked in the background to his dispatch center.  “Come on, honey.”  

Tiffy eyes started to roll open.  
     
    “Hey, there.”  Aubrey smiled and kept collected and calm.  “Don’t move, okay.”  Aubrey braced her neck.

“What happened?” she asked groggily.

“You fell off the horse.  Did Gunny rear up on you?”

“I felt dizzy and then...and then....I don’t remember.”  Tiffy was calmer than any adult would have been in her situation.

“Where do you hurt?”

“My wrist.”

“Does your neck hurt?”  

“My head hurts.”

“Does your neck or back hurt?”

“My back hurts bad.”

“Me and you, we’re going to play a game.”

“What game?”  She closed her eyes and winced.

“Freeze tag and you’re it, no tag backs.”

“What’s freeze tag?”

“Oh you’re making me feel old.  We’ll try this another way, what I want you to do is be as still as a tree.”

“Tree branches move in the wind.”

“You would give any lawyer a run for his money.  I don’t want you to try to get up, you stay as still as you can.”

“Okay.”  

“Can you wiggle your fingers for me?  Just your fingers.”  Tiffy wiggled her fingers.  “Now can you feel your toes when you try to wiggle them?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, good girl.”

“I’m sorry Aubrey.”

“Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault.  You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I didn’t mean to fall.”  Tiffy started to get emotional.  

“I know you didn’t, it’s okay sweetie.”

Ben knelt down next to them.

“Tiffy.”  Ben breathed a sigh of relief at seeing her awake.  

“I need to keep her neck stabilized.  Can you put the horses away?”

“I don’t care about the damn horses.”  

Aubrey would have asked him what the hell his problem was, but it wasn’t the time.  

“Did she hurt her neck?”

“She says her back hurts so I’m stabilizing her neck as a precaution.”

“Uncle Ben, I’m sorry.”

“Listen, you didn’t do anything wrong.  You’re going to be okay.”  Ben curled his hand around hers.

“Ben, I need you to put the horses away so when the ambulance gets here there won’t be any problems.  I’ve got her.”

Ben wavered between leaving her and staying, then stood up and did as Aubrey asked.  

“Uncle Ben sounds mad.”  

“He’s not mad, you gave us a little scare.”

“Is he mad at me?”  It was clear that Tiffy was scared of disappointing her family.

“No, no.  He’s not mad at you.  No one is mad at you.”

“Can I get up yet?”

“Since your back hurts